In which it is about time for an update

Greetings all! Please accept my most sincere apologies for my prolonged absence... No I have not given up on my blog, though it has been just short of a month since my last post...

Here is a quick explanation as to why I was absent for such a long while... Not only have I been busy, I have also been sick. For a month, I had been coughing and hacking and truly sounding like someone on the verge of dying from Tuberculosis. Luckily, I suffered of no such illness, but it was more severe than a common cold. After three weeks of non-stop symptoms, I finally decided to consult a doctor. I was diagnosed with "Acute Bronchitis" and prescribed very strong antibiotics for a week. I am now completely cured: only slight seasonal sniffles remain...

However, I think that bronchitis is quite a good excuse for not blogging. I preferred spending my free-time sleeping and recovering, as I spent the rest of the time doing schoolwork and going to rehearsals for Savoy. In other words: zero motivation to do anything for the past few weeks. It is a natural consequence of being ill. I hope you (yes, dear reader, I am actually addressing my blog right now) will find it in your virtual heart to forgive my neglect...

Now, for the updates - as you have surely all spent a month in complete suspense, awaiting what would happen to me next (lol).

First and foremost... I got called back by Air Canada! I cannot tell you how happy this makes me! I will be working at the airport over the Christmas break and I am really excited about it. I do not have my new start date yet, but I do look forward to it. It promises to be a very busy time at the airport and I am always up for a challenge. I am excited to go back - it will certainly be more stimulating than school right now.

Indeed, school has, sadly, reached an ultimate low right now. I am not at all motivated, my classes suck. To be fair, this year, I am taking all the classes I am missing to complete my degree... but that does not make them interesting. I am bored out of my wits in class these days. The only class I enjoy is German Literature. Yes - my last elective happens to be the only class I enjoy this semester, and this because the professor is totally awesome. All my other classes will turn me into a mollusk if the subject matter does not improve. Case in point, Intro to Theatre Studies. I have not learnt a thing all semester. I have merely been bored. Everything the instructor mentionned was something I already knew, and she never explained any topic in depth. Many students have complained about knowing more about the subject before they ever took the class. *sigh* At least it is almost over. This week is the last week of classes and total "crunch time." I have three essays due this week, and after that I have four finals to worry about. Then I will be free to rant about passengers again! ;-)

In other news... I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Part 1 in theatres (twice!). Loved it! Some of the added dialogue (i.e. dialogue that is not in the books) is hilarious and well paced. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also liked how the overall movie was directed. There was a very dark mood throughout the film, and certain choices on the director's part emphasised this brilliantly. The one scene that did bother me was when Harry, Ron and Hermione are running from the Snatchers in the woods... the camera is handheld and "sort of" following the actors running away through the woods... But there were too many trees for this to be quite effective. The only result was that I became extremely nauseous looking at the screen (yup - I got motion sickness looking at a movie!). I think that this scene was supposed to be directed à la Bourne Trilogy, but that effect fell flat. The cut-off of the film was to be expected though - obviously, the battle of Hogwarts would be kept for part 2. They will probably have the second film based heavily on this arch of the story (rather than the three measly chapters dedicated to it in the books - I found the battle far too short...).
But yes, I much enjoyed the film. Daniel Radcliffe still sucks. Rupert Grint is awesome as ever. Emma Watson has improved but still leaves me indifferent. The adult actors, though, are flabbergasting. I loved Jason Isaacs and lamented the little screen time that had been granted to Alan Rickman. Ralf Fiennes was amazingly creepy and Helene Bonham-Carter was terrifyingly crazy. I really enjoyed watching them. ^_^ Before I move on to another subject, I have to let you all know that the Dark Wizards and Death Eaters (for the most part) wear very snazzy outfits in the movie... their "lordly" clothes look really hot!

The second time I went to see the movie, I went with Michael. We made a date out of it. I loved it. It was so much fun! We went to see the movie in a matinee (cheap and early) and then went winter-boot shopping and for a nice dinner. I dressed dapper for my love and truly enjoyed the time I spent with him. We really ought to date more - it is always so enjoyable when we do. *sigh* I love him!! (sorry for the sappiness...)

And... on to another subject...
I went to my very first SCA event on Saturday. The SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is an awesome group that basically takes mildy insane people like myself, puts them in period garb, and has them pretend they lived back in the Middle-Ages for an evening (or weekend, depending on the event). The SCA does all kinds of workshops about Medieval cooking, crafts, fighting techniques, etc. I am considering going to their archery session - it sound like fun. The evening I went to was the Montreal SCA's harvest feast. It was a potluck of Medieval (or Medieval inspired) food. It. Was. DELICIOUS!!! I really loved the food! Entertainment was provided by all the participants: many got up to tell stories or sing. I was invited to dance on some fiddle music that sounded like a gig, so I made good use of the hornpipe gig that we learned for the upcoming Savoy show and got a great round of applause for my dancing (as well as many gasps when I lifted my skirt a little so my feet would be seen). All the people at the event were really nice and I look forward to meeting them again. One gentleman was a pirate and he sang the most bawdy songs I have ever heard! I had quite the laugh. Remind me to put the lyrics up here someday... Oh, and the same pirate gentleman had some amazingly delicious grog which kind of tasted like liquid Rocket candy! lol And I got many compliments on the gown I was wearing (see picture over my profile). People thought I was an "import" from another SCA kingdom, because my dress was so pretty and well constructed! Yay!!! ^_^
It was a great evening, and I would elaborate more if I did not have more to post about. I do want to thank Victoria, though, for accompanying me. It was really great!

Okay - now for the last (I think) bit of news in this post...
I have been asked by the organizer of Dr. Sketchy Montreal to model for them in January! I am so excited! I have wanted to participate in Dr. Sketchy for AGES and now I finally get to go as a model! I am very happy about this... and soooooo excited! For those who do not know what Dr. Sketchy is, it is a figure drawing workshop that invites lives models to pose for artists on a stage. The models usually work on a theme and wear costumes (it is not nude modeling) and pose for a certain amount of time for the artists, who may then sketch and draw to their heart's content. It is great fun and I look forward to posing for them! I will give you all more details as the date for my Dr. Sketchy appearance draws closer, but I had to mention it now, because I am really happy about it.

And before I forget: Michael and I (and our roommate) encountered a really eerie light last night. It sort of whizzed right in front of Michael, making him stop in his tracks (and me do a double-take, because I thought it would hit his eye), and then slowly trailed to the ground, whizzed accross the sidewalk and vanished. It was a small yellow light. Our roommate thinks it was someone using a laser pointer - but laser light is only visible when it hits a surface. This light was actually floating in the air in front of Michael's nose for a bit. Laser does not do that... it was a little creepy... I do not know what to make of it...

Also... I started working on my cosplays for next summer. I am looking forward to updating you all on my progress...

And now, dear readers, I believe you are all up-to-date. I will now go eat (as I am starving). I promise (really, I do!) more frequent posts in future - I no longer have bronchitis, so I have no excuse!!

In which the annual checkup happened...

I. Hate. Medical. Exams.

Do not get me wrong: I love my doctor. She's super nice! But the annual check-up always makes me very uncomfortable and feel very awkward. As much as I like my doctor, I hate it when she starts making small-talk from between my legs... waaay too awkward! And I am not a prude by any means!! And I hate cotton swabs too... it feels more like an attempt to impale someone than anything else.

Okay enough said. Just letting you know that I hate these yearly check-ups. But they are necessary, as the Canadian government does not allow the pill to be prescribed for over a year in order to ensure that women go to their annual check-up. At least my prescription got renewed, which is a good result from this check-up.
Also, considering my mum's breast cancer, I was told I should start checking for that more frequently... especially considering that I never used to check at all. (It has a tendency to be the very last thing on my mind...)

So yeah. Hate having to go to clinics. It never is fun.

Other than that: weather sucks. 15 degrees Celsius is not nearly enough for a cold-blooded snake like myself to keep warm. I spent most of the day wrapped tightly in a blanket. There was no sun for me to sunbathe and warm up my veins, sadly. I was freezing!! In June! *pout*

And I had to get up SUPER early (5:15 a.m.) in order to ensure that I would catch my train out of Montreal (because that's where my doctor is) on time (because the train schedules suck). I freaked out somewhat when I got to the subway that was supposed to take me to the train, as there was a "slowdown of undetermined length due to a system failure." I could have murdered someone. But I got to my train in time in the end, and all went well. I spent a nice morning with my mum... went to my bloody check-up... and then discovered a wonderful series (that I had heard of but never watched) called Lie to Me, which I quite enjoyed. I like how they use famous examples of liars in the series: it makes me giggle (especially when George W. Bush or Sarah Palin are featured).

Then I took the train back and took a MASSIVE (and well deserved) nap. And all of this was followed by a horror movie. Michael and I watched the original John Carpenter's 1980 film The Fog. It was great. Though now I am a little freaked out... I cannot bear to look out of the windows into the dark. Irrational fear, I know; but my imagination does tend to run away with me. *sigh* Why do I watch horror movies if they creep me out so... I do not know - but I have a fascination with ghosts. I have spent the rest of my evening reading up on ghost ships. A surprisingly large amount are just off the Canadian East Coast. Now I really want to go to the East Coast and see some ghost ships for myself (though I know I will be unutterably terrified should I see one).

It seems that I am a big scaredy-cat, but that I thoroughly enjoy it all at once. Oh well... it gets my imagination going - and those who know me well know what that means! *wink*

P.S. Les Miserables tomorrow! I am sooooo excited! And I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and... okay, I'll shut up. Anyways, I am really looking forward to it. I've been a bouncy ball of excitement about it all day!! Huzzah!! Do you hear the people sing...? (shut up, Naria!)

Chapter 23 - In which the wallowing phase is over

So... I've been thinking...
Yes, I am disappointed about Japanese. Knowing your grade will be bad in advance just totally sucks!! However, all things considered, ale iacta est. What is done is done. Japanese is over, let's take a deep breath and move on. Hopefully I'll pass the class... but, come to think of it, I've never ever failed a class in my life before... Breaking that habit would certainly be an experience (not fun, by any means!! but it might harden me against my fear of failure). Sure, even if I pass, I know I will not be satisfied with my grade anyway - it definitely below 80%. This will not do for my 90% average (or more) ego. But, I guess I'll just have to deal with it... God, this reminds me of math class! Except that I hated math and that was my excuse for not doing as well in it as in other classes. And, to be fair, unlike everyone else in my class, I did not exactly study Japanese.
I find studying exceedingly difficult, because I'm just not used to doing it. I usually pass with ridiculous ease and without lifting a finger (I think Michael resents me for it... just a little... ;-D ) For Japanese, I actually had to make an effort. That seems to have taken my brain by surprise. I crammed for all the in-class tests and did average, but good. And I did study very hard for the final - but I probably could have done better. I believe the problem is that I have no studying method... It's what happens when you're a master procrastinator with anxiety issues like myself. I need to face the facts: when I study or cram, I am usually completely and utterly overwrought and a big unmanageable explosive ball of stress. And I still somehow manage to procrastinate everything, essays included, to very late at night and then I basically spew out an essay, usually very good ones too, in 2 to 3 hours tops. If I get distracted by Doctor Who or something while I write, it might take me 4 hours... but usually, I'd say my average is 3. Damn - I'm good! ;-D
So yeah. The point of all this chatter is that I have no proper working method when it comes to school. I usually figure that listening in class will suffice to pass the semester. It usually does, even if I do not listen in class at all. Too bad it did not work that way for Japanese. Oh well, I did my best (I really did! Who else is nuts enough to recopy her textbook by hand???) and, as I said before, what is done is done. No regrets - I enjoyed the class and learned a lot. I probably did not do well - but I did what I could.

And now, the fun part of the post!!
I went to a concert tonight. My brother's first concert actually. He sand (yelled into the mic) four songs, including 'Rasputin' by Boney M. He was painted all in red, wearing faux-fur and some kilt he quickly put together and I helped him sew... A little ridiculous if you ask me - but no bad showmanship at all. He and his band were good. But if he wants to go on with his band, he needs to learn to use his vocal chords properly. He insists that Death Metal singers always scream into the mic without holding back and so he also bawls into it recklessly. But, according to Michael, screaming is very bad for the vocal chords. So, I suspect that the Heavy Metal singers actually have a technique to scream into the mic that spares their voice in some miraculous way. My dear brother needs to learn that. Otherwise, his band career will be very short...

And in other news: my mum is back!! She came back from Germany today!! She survived the stupid ash-cloud from Iceland. Honestly, when I heard about the cloud and all the fuss about the European airspace being closed I nearly threw a fit! I was kind of pissed, because I wanted to see my mum really badly (she's always a good person to turn to during exam stress - and in general as well - she's awesome all around!), especially because I had not seen her in a while, and then the volcano erupted. I was starting to joke (this IS a joke - please don't hate me for it!) that Iceland should be bombed and that way all frequent volcano eruptions done away with. That way, we'd also solve the problem of my brother's obsession with Vikings! But that was just a joke - nothing against Icelanders or their country... I just have an issue with their volcanoes (and I bet that the couple of thousand stranded passengers across Europe are of my opinion as well when it comes to those freakin' magma pits!).

And I think my shower is haunted. No, I'm serious! I think we have a ghost who takes a shower there regularly. It sometimes just randomly starts dripping A LOT of water for about 2-5 minutes (even though all taps are closed) and then it stops... Weird...

Oh great! I DID have something else to say... but I completely forgot it. Darn! This is what happens when ghosts take showers - they distract you! And then there's nothing you can do anymore but kick yourself for forgetting your absolutely brilliant idea for a blog post! *sigh*
Crap... I'm being fussy and wallowing again, aren't I? Apologies...

I still forgot what I wanted to write but I have one last thing to say: I downloaded two of my favourite movies recently for Michael to watch. They are German comedies subtitled by Michael Bully Herbig. They're fabulously hilarious! Of course, we've got them with English subtitles, so that Michael could understand what it was all about. He loved them!! I'm soooo pleased! Here's a video from (T)Raumschiff Surprise: Periode 1, one of their movies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhaXQ3UaDo&feature=PlayList&p=CA49A852F3907E42&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=12
Ah! These Germans are so wonderfully nuts! No one can do a Star-Trek/Star Wars/Time Machine parody like they can!! I'm sorry Mel Brooks, Space Balls is just... well, balls in comparison to this!
The other movie is called Der Schuh des Manitus and actually was made before (T)Raumschiff. Watch them in order if you watch them, please! Otherwise, some of the jokes in (T)Raumschiff are lost on you!

And with that, I wish you all the best! Pray I get my brilliant idea back! ;-D Ta-ta!

Chapter 17 - In which a dragon was trained, awkwardness occurred and speaking three languages has its advantages

... this chapter title does not describe my day in chronological order at all - but it sounded better this way. Sorry!

So here's the order of what actually happened today:
1 - Awkwardness occurred (around 10:25 a.m. this morning)
2 - Speaking three languages has its advantages (at about 4:00 p.m.)
3 - A dragon was trained (at 7:00 p.m.)

So lets begin with the awkwardness. First, I must explain that, next week, we have a short skit to present for Japanese class. Now, my team has become rather infamous in the class for being completely and utterly ridiculous. Last time, we did a pokemon skit and I was playing a crazy water pokemon trainer with huge pigtails... it was a blast!! This time around I am an over-the-top crazy hostess in a Maid Cafe (and I will be wearing my 7 inch platform heels for the occasion... this has a point, just wait for it). The scenario is that I fall in love with a guest to the cafe, but my ex-boyfriend shows up. My character broke up with him because he's far too short for my tastes (that's why the 7 inch heels will be required to make me about a foot taller than my teammates). Anyways, at the end of the skit we reconcile and we decided to make that obvious. Now, you must understand that it's an all-girls team and so we'd feel a little awkward actually kissing. My teammate suggested a mere hug, whereas I suggested a "theatrical" kiss. The stage kissing is the oldest trick in the book: place your thumb against victims lips and kiss your thumb. Your lips have never touched, but it looks quite realistic. I decided to demonstrate the theatrical kiss to one of my teammates before class to show what it looked like when the Japanese teacher walked in on our practice session. Biggest. Stare. Ever. We burst out laughing and went beet-red. We tried to explain that nothing actually happened, but, judging by her nod, I don't think she believed us... And so, awkwardness ensued. I cannot tell you how awkward it is to be caught fake-kissing another girl by a prof who has NO clue of what's going on....!!!! I was very subdued in Japanese class as a result.

When I got home, I took a healthy nap (though I should probably have studied Japanese instead), and then I got a call from my mum about applying for a summer job in Germany. She actually found a few carreer opportunities in Germany for me, one of which is summer camp work at a vacation spot. The advantage of this is that it is only 100 km away from Weimar, which is where Michael will be training at his summer programme. Meaning that, should I get the job, I can see Michael every weekend!! That would just be wonderful! And housing would be paid too!! I am really enthusiastic about this job idea, especially as I believe my capacity to express myself fluently in three languages will be a clear advantage for this post. Honestly: thank God my parents raised me to be fully trilingual! Not only is it a huge advantage for career opportunities such as these (and ever better job opportunities later on), but Michael also finds my use of three languages very sexy! ;-D (So many great advantages to linguistics, eh? You never know what men find hot! ^__^ ) Being trilingual also helps me when learning new languages, as I have a very nimble tongue for foreign words and can phonetically immitate all sorts of pronounciations. Unfortunately, it doesn't give me an innate grasp on grammar (which is why Japanese is getting me so down). But it is just amazing how much stuff I can pronounce really well without knowing a word of what I'm saying... Viva being trilingual! I love it! :P

Now... you must wonder how training a dragon comes into all this (that - or you already know the answer). I went to see new Dreamworks animation movie, How To Train Your Dragon, in IMAX 3D today (shut up! I know I should have studied Japanese! Now get off my back!). It was FANTASTIC!! I believe it is probably the best movie I have seen in theaters so far this year!! It is really cute and amazingly animated. The textures are incredibly real, but the animation does not attempt to be realistic in the slightest. Also, it takes place in a Viking village. Oh, yeah. My brother would love this movie: Vikings and bearded men. The movie also features the voice talents of Gerard Butler and David Tennant (OMG! my two favourite Scotsmen!! *squee* Too bad David Tennant has only 4 lines). I don't want to say too much about it, because people should go out and see this movie. Seriously: it's worth it! But it's super cute and really funny!! The dragons are waaay to cute to resist: they're like giant scaly cats!! You should see their reactions to catnip! XD And the movie is full of lines such as: "This is my village, where it snows for 9 months and it hails during the 3 other months. The food that grows here is tough and tasteless, and the people that grow here... even more so." Conclusion... WATCH IT! It's great and super fun and the dragon designs are just too hilarious! You will enjoy it. And someone should force my brother to see it... I mean, it fits right in to his Viking obsession!!

That's all. Except that now I really REALLY want a Night Fury Dragon!! *covet*